Group attendance is used to enter the same attendance code for a large number of students at the same time. For example, do you have an athletic team that needs to leave early for the day to attend a game? Or an entire grade level going on a field trip?

Here’s how to use it:

1. From the Main Menu of RenWeb, click Attendance.
2. Click Attendance - Group.
3. Select a Filter of Grade Level or Activity.
4. Select the Grade Level or Activity Name by which to filter the group.
5. Select the students in the Student List and move to the Selected List by clicking the > (right arrow) button or move all the students in the group by clicking the >>(double right arrow) button.
6. Select the Date for the Attendance marks.
7. Select the Col (column) where the attendance mark should appear.
8. Enter the appropriate Attendance Code, for example A for Absent, SA for School Activity. Attendance Codes are defined inAttendance > Attendance Setup.
9. Enter any necessary information in the Comments field.
10. Enter the appropriate schedule information for which the Attendance Code should appear in the Enter schedule rows (1,2,3) 0 = All Day field. For instance, if a team will be attending an athletic event for the last three periods of an eight period day with a separate Homeroom period, enter 7,8,9 in this field. If the Attendance Code should be entered for all periods in the day, enter a 0 (zero).
11. Click Record. The screen displays Finished in the lower left corner after processing the Group Attendance.
12. Click Exit twice to return to the Main Menu.

Have any other questions? Feel free to contact Support or email us at socialmedia@renweb.com.

This is a reminder that there is still time to register for RenWeb's 2012 Power Conference!  If you are an experienced RenWeb user, this is your opportunity to see live, in-person demonstrations of some of our newest products and services, such as our hosted Moodle service that integrates with RenWeb, our new RenWeb Home iPhone app for parents and students, and Online Enrollment.

If your school is new to RenWeb, or a long-time customer that has new staff members, the Power Conference provides the opportunity to receive in-person training in 13-hours worth of training sessions.

Plus we offer 4 round table discussions so you have the chance to meet with other schools like you and learn how they have addressed different subjects that interest you, such as their launch of 1:1 device programs or a learning management system like Moodle.

To register for the conference, go to RenWeb Main Menu > Report Manager > 2012 Power Conference > 2012 Power Conference Registration Form.  You will be able to register up to five participants at a time. 

For more information about the conference (including dates, hotel reservations and more), please visit our dedicated Power Conference Website. You can also view a Conference Schedule and Sessions List there.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2012 Power Conference!

Did you know RenWeb has a Twitter account? Follow us here!

If you aren’t using Twitter yet, now is a great time to get started! We will be using Twitter at the upcoming 2012 Power Conference to communicate and interact with attendees using the hashtag #RWPC.

Here are a few ways you or your school can use Twitter effectively:

• Link to school blog posts or personal blog posts
• Follow other thought leaders in the education community
• Post recent news or school announcements
• Send reminders about upcoming school events
• Live-tweet school sporting events
• Link to education articles or blog posts you find interesting
• Talk to other teachers or administrators about social media and technology in education

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at socialmedia@renweb.com! Don’t forget to keep an eye on #RWPC in advance of the Power Conference for news, announcements and more!

 Schools Placing Advance Orders Will Receive Hosted Moodle Sites That Integrate with RenWeb Beginning June 26

RenWeb is pleased to announce it is now accepting advance orders for Moodle Hosting, which will begin on June 26 for schools that submit advance orders. Advance Ordering is intended for schools with prior Moodle knowledge, or for schools that will require no Moodle support. RenWeb will not begin providing training or support on the hosted Moodle solution until the official launch of Moodle Hosting at the 2012 Power Conference.

Pricing

Moodle hosting is purchased by Usage Level. Usage Level is defined by the number of teachers and students that will be enrolled as users in Moodle. It is also defined by the amount of storage space the Moodle users and school will require for their Moodle site.

There is a $195 one-time Moodle Site setup fee. Schools then pay a monthly Moodle Hosting fee following the schedule below for the selected Usage Level. 

• Up to 250 Moodle users and 5GB of storage: $65 per month
• Up to 500 users and 10GB: $90
• Up to 750 users and 15GB: $ 115
• Up to 1,000 users and 20GB: $140
• Up to 1,250 users and 25GB: $165
• Up to 1,500 users and 30GB: $190
• Up to 1,750 users and 35GB: $215
• Up to 2,000 users and 40GB: $240

If schools exceed their storage, they will need to either eliminate content to stay within their disk storage tier, or move to the next larger storage and pricing tier.

Ordering Instructions

To place an advance order for your school, go to the RenWeb Main Menu and click Report Manager, then select the Products and Services category, then select Moodle Hosting Sign Up and click Print. Fill out the form and you will receive via email an order confirmation.

Moodle Plugins

If you currently use Moodle, we would like to collect on the Sign Up form the non-native Moodle plugins you currently actively use. You can find a list of all enabled plug-ins on the Settings > Site Administration > Plugins > Plugins overview page of your current Moodle site.

Term Commitment

There is no long-term contract or term commitment. You can sign up for Moodle Hosting and see how it works for your school with no risk or large, up-front financial investment. You can then cancel the service at any time if it doesn't meet your expectations.

Next Steps

After you place your advance order, you will receive written instructions on how to access and log into your Moodle Site. In general, you should expect it to take 2 - 3 days for RenWeb to establish your site and issue the written instructions after we receive your advance order. We will wait until June 26 to begin issuing instructions.

No training or support will be provided at this time while we prepare for the formal Moodle Hosting launch at the 2012 Power Conferenceto be held July 16 - 19 in Anaheim, CA. At the conference we will provide training on Moodle Administration and Using Moodle in the Classroom.

Once we formally launch Moodle Hosting at the conference, we will begin offering these training sessions online for Moodle Hosting customers.

We look forward to providing you with this opportunity to have a Moodle site that integrates with RenWeb at a price all schools can afford.

You probably know that you can send emergency notifications via Parent Alert’s instantaneous notification service, but do you know all the other ways that you can incorporate Parent Alert into your school community?

Here are just a few:

• School closings
• Bus delays
• Event cancellations
• Scheduling changes
• PTA meetings
• Field trip reminders
• Fundraising event notifications
• Sporting event, concert or other school activity schedules and reminders
• Grade or attendance notifications

If your school uses Parent Alert in a unique way, please email us at socialmedia@renweb.com! We’d love to hear—and share—your story. If you are interested in learning more about how Parent Alert can benefit your school, please join us for a free demonstration webinar.

 The New York Times recently reported on the growing trend of using “backchannel” Twitter-like live streams in the classroom to enhance classroom discussion. Unlike a traditional classroom discussion in which a teacher raises a topic and asks for student input via a raised hand, backchannel live streams (created using Twitter, Google Moderator and Today’s Meet) allow students to type questions, answers and bring up new topics—all while the teacher is lecturing. The teacher then monitors the backchannel in order to steer the lecture or discussion accordingly.

In the article, one teacher said he was nervous that students would be too distracted and wouldn’t use the technology appropriately, but found that the students’ “hypertext minds” were well-suited to incorporate this new tool into the classroom. Another teacher remarked that he was blown away by how many students that would previously stay silent during classroom discussion were suddenly involved on the backchannel.

Have you ever considered using this technology in your classroom? Send us your thoughts!

Have you ever wondered what makes Online Application and Online Enrollment different?

Online Enrollment is intended for new students that have already been accepted into school, and returning students that are re-enrolling.Online Application is for students who are initially applying to the school.

Online Application is accessed by prospective parents through your school’s public website. Online Enrollment is accessed through a secure ParentsWeb login available only to parents within your school community, including parents of new students.

Online Application presents to prospective parents online demographic forms that are blank so parents can initially enter their information. Online Enrollment presents to parents pre-populated demographic forms so parents can simply update any demographic or contact information that has changed from what RenWeb has on record.

Finally, Online Enrollment typically has different supplemental forms that are requested from parents than the supplemental forms requested from applying parents in Online Application.

If you’re interested in learning more, sign up for a FREE upcoming webinar or sign-up for Online Application and/or Online Enrollment in RenWeb > Report Manager > Products and Services.

Your website does more than just market your school. To a prospective parent, it is your school.

With combined experience of 30+ years, RenWeb and Cherry+Company can provide you with an award-winning design that integrates with the power and performance of RenWeb School Management Software in our School Site product.

We've worked to make our School Site product the ultimate in ease-of-use and flexibility. There's no special IT experience required and youhave the power to update and change your custom website anytime, anywhere. It is an affordable, dynamic website solution for your school.

"Cherry+Company's design solution for our School Site really captured the essence of our school. We immediately wanted to extend the design to other materials! THAT is how much we loved the design!" -- Cherie Jackson, Communications Coordinator at Hinsdale Adventist Academy in Hinsdale, IL regarding their new School Site website, which is currently in development

Start the 2012-2013 school year with a brand new website!

• Wednesday,  June 6 - 10:00 am - 11:00 am CDT

• Tuesday, June 19 - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm CDT

 These End of Year Procedure FAQs may be helpful as your school year wraps up!

Q: Is it possible to begin working on Next Year’s schedules prior to completing the End of Year Progression?

A: Yes, you can work on class schedules for the next academic year during the current academic year by changing the date on the Main Menu.

Q: What do we do if the school needs a report card or transcript, but has already completed the progression?

A: Since you have archived the student Report Cards and Transcripts, you are able to go to the Students screen, select the student, go to the Portfolio area and print.

Q: How do I run Class Rank and Honor Roll for the previous year if I have already completed progression?

A:  There is no way to run Class Rank and Honor Roll for a previous year once progression has been completed for a school year. You must run Class Rank and Honor Roll prior to progressing.

Q: How do I get my enrollment numbers from last year?

A:  You can see a list of enrolled students as well as the total number of enrolled by accessing the Student screen Historical filter. 
1. From the Main Menu, click Students. 
2. Select the Historical Filter option and click on Enrolled. 
3. Select the Year for which to see the list of students and total number of enrolled students.

 Have you ever wondered how to add photos of your school campus or school events to ParentsWeb?

Here’s how!

1. From the ParentsWeb Configuration tab, click the Pictures tab.
2. Click Get Picture.
3. Navigate to the location on the computer where the picture is saved and click Open.
4. Type a Caption to be displayed at the top of the picture.
5. Select the Location of Gallery for all pictures if using ParentsWeb 2.0.
6. Select a Grouping. (Groupings are created when you type the name into the Grouping field. Once a Grouping is used, it is available for future use in the drop-down menu. Pictures without a Grouping are added to album named Other.)
7. Add a Hyperlink if desired.
8. Select the District-Wide option to make the picture visible to all schools in district.

If you have any further questions, feel free to email us at socialmedia@renweb.com!